Following the announcement of the M2 MacBook Air at this year’s Worldwide Developer Conference, many were expecting the next-generation 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops in Apple’s traditional late October/early November launch window. Not only was there no sign of the macOS laptops in Apple’s flurry of press release launches in October, it now looks like the faithful will be waiting until 2023 for their brave new world.
Brussels, Belgium, 12th july 2022: Entrance of the apple store in Brussels, Apple logo on the window
While there is no definitive statement from Apple, there are multiple indications that the argument for a delay has been won inside Cupertino.
First up are Tim Cook’s words in Apple’s recent earnings calls, where he stated that Apple’s product lineup is set for the holidays… words that imply we won’t see any new hardware before 2023 – although with the promise to move the entire Mac range to Apple Silicon by the end of 2022 hanging over Cook and his team, at least one new Mac Pro powered by Apple Silicon needs to be sold to someone outside of the campus.
Building on that, noted Apple reporter Mark Gurman is suggesting that these larger MacBook Pro laptops will be released “within the coming months” and in “the near future”; words that would cover the traditional November announcement and subsequent release during the holidays, or into 2023.
Finally (for now), reports from the supply chain suggest that production on the professional laptops is geared towards a March release.
This means that the one-year anniversary of the M1 Pro and M1 Ultra powered MacBook Pros will pass with no update. Curiously, the MacBook Air and the inexplicable 13-inch MacBook Pro launched in 2020 also missed out on a one-year anniversary in 2021, instead picking up their M2 updates at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference in June 2022; arguably after a year and a half.
If the larger professional MacBook Pro laptops are updated and join the M2 family in March, you could (just about) argue that they are also on a year and a half schedule. Who knows, they might even get pushed back to WWDC 2023; after all, they are very much machines designed for developers and those needing the excess of power the chipsets offer. Launching them at the event designed for developers and their ilk has a certain attractive quality,
What it also offers is a clear run into the holiday season for the MacBook Air and the 13-inch MacBook Pro. Consumers looking for a ‘new’ MacBook will find the new M2 chips on a new MacBook Air and MacBook Pro on offer, with no other macOS laptops muddying the waters.
Now read the latest MacBook, iPhone, and iPad headlines in this week’s Apple Loop on Forbes…
